Willson Contreras, the power hitter for the Boston Red Sox, faced ejection for a second straight game on Tuesday night following a confrontation with Washington Nationals pitcher Cade Cavalli at Fenway Park, which sparked a benches-clearing altercation.
The day began with Contreras joining his fellow Venezuelan players in fundraising efforts for earthquake victims in their country, only to later find himself embroiled in a fiery exchange after Cavalli struck him out in the fourth inning.
The reasons behind Cavalli’s actions remain unclear, but he was overheard shouting ‘Sit down bro’ at Contreras as the Red Sox player left the batter’s box.
The previous day, Contreras had drawn attention with an emphatic bat flip after hitting a three-run home run against Miles Mikolas, for which he later expressed regret. Whether this incident ties into Tuesday’s skirmish remains unknown.
Regardless, the words from Cavalli provoked Contreras’ ire on Tuesday night, and he had to be held back by his teammate and compatriot, Boston catcher Carlos Narvaez.
And when Contreras did slip away, he took the opportunity to launch his helmet in Cavalli’s direction.
Bosston Red Sox first baseman Willson Contreras apporaches the mound to confront Cade Cavalli, but is stopped by his countryman, Nationals catcher Keibert Ruiz on Tuesday night
Willson Contreras tries to get to Washington pitcher Cade Cavalli on Tuesday in Boston
Cade Cavalli is restrained after having words with Boston slugger Willson Contreras
Although a few other shoving matches ensued, umpires gained control of the situation before ejecting Contreras, Boston interim manager Chad Tracy, Boston outfielder Nate Eaton and Mikolas.
And with that, Contreras entered Boston history by becoming the first Red Sox player to be ejected in two consecutive games. Not even the mercurial Carl Everett, who was once suspended for grabbing his crotch, was ejected from consecutive games.
Unfortunately for Contreras and the Red Sox, Boston’s bullpen imploded by surrendering all eight runs in the 8-1 defeat. Red Sox rookie hurler Payton Tolle is on the mound for the 1:35pm start in Boston while Washington will send Andrew Alvarez to the hill.
The 34-year-old Contreras has acknowledged struggling with the aftermath of the earthquake in Venezuela.
‘Everything that’s going on in Venezuela, it’s not easy to hide,’ Contreras told reporters after Monday’s win over Washington. ‘It’s not easy just to show up and play with everything that is going on in my country.’
The death toll from the twin earthquakes has risen to nearly 2,000 as aftershocks have eased in recent days.
National Assembly President Jorge Rodríguez said Tuesday that the earthquakes left more than 10,000 people injured and 15,000 displaced.
Boston bench coach Jose David Flores walks Willson Contreras back to the Boston dugout
Before the game, Red Sox teammates and native Venezuelans Willson Contreras (left) and Wilyer Abreu (right) raised money for their home country following its devastating earthquake
Interim manager Chad Tracy argues with umpire Vic Carapazza after the brawl
Contreras launched a 421-foot home run in the game before flipping his bat into the sky and shouting ‘Venezuela’ long before either the ball or his lumber had a chance to land.
‘I feel like I could be there helping people and I can’t do that,’ Contreras said. ‘And the homer just represents something that I pray to God for it to happen, because that’s the only thing I can do for Venezuela right now physically. And that’s why I was emotional.’
Contreras and Red Sox teammate Wilyer Abreu were both members of the Venezuelan team that won the WBC back in March.
This is not the first on-field confrontation of the season for Contreras, who has been hit by 14 pitches this season – more than all but two MLB batters. Days earlier, Contreras had words with New York Yankees Will Warren over some chin music. And prior to that, Contreras had a heated exchange with his brother William’s team, the Milwaukee Brewers, after being hit by a pitch in April.
Remarkably, it was the 24th time Contreras had been beaned by a Brewers pitcher.